EDITORIAL: Nothing Says Hypocritical More Than David Cicilline’s Non-Union Tesla
Sunday, September 17, 2023
Former Congressman and now head of the Rhode Island Foundation David Cicilline loves his Tesla. He can be seen speeding around the East Side of Providence, driving his non-union-built little Elon Musk mobile.
Zoom. Zoom.
While union workers of the United Auto Workers are trying to cut the margin between how much the CEOs of the big three make and the median salary of union workers, the big winner is expected to be non-union Tesla and Musk. The CEOs of the big three make about 300 times the median salary of their company's workers.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWhen Cicilline was a member of Congress, he chest pounded and would have blocked the Norwegian Air coming to RI because of their labor practices -- the key step to growing the now-Rhode Island International Airport and jobs.
Norwegian faced strong opposition from U.S. pilots unions and both Congressmen at the time, Cicilline and Jim Langevin, co-sponsored 2016 House Resolution 5090 that, if passed, would block Norwegian Air’s subsidiary from operating in Rhode Island.
As GoLocal reported at the time, "Tourism Officials Fight to Bring Norwegian Air to RI, Langevin and Cicilline Fight Against Airline."
Ultimately, Langevin changed position and said he supported the same position of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation.
In an interview on February 17, 2017, Cicilline claimed that his 2016 resolution did not specifically impact Norwegian Air. “But it is also very important that those jobs respect U.S. labor standards; that [is] what the bill did. It did not pass. I regret it didn’t. We want labor standards complied with, but your story is wrong..." WATCH THE INTERVIEW ABOVE
But, Southwest Airlines' Chip Hancock, who then headed the Governmental Affairs Committee for the pilots' union, said that Langevin and Cicilline’s resolution was introduced to stop Norwegian. He and other pilot union leaders met with the Trump White House, asking the new administration to block Norwegian.
Hancock told GoLocal in a phone interview that “passage of HR 5090 would have stopped Norwegian’s expansion.”
Most leading Democrats supported the arrival of Norweigan. Then-Governor Gina Raimondo called the arrival a "game-changer" for the airport and Rhode Island's economy. And now-Senate President Dominick Ruggerio supported the arrival of Norweigan, warts and all.
"This could be a major addition to the airport. International flights at low fares would help the airport, tourism, business and labor," said Ruggerio said at the time. "I know some of the pilots have issues, but I strongly support the expansion of Norwegian in Rhode Island.”
But for Cicilline, it is labor for you and not for me.
Zoom. Zoom.
Today, Cicilline is paid more than $650,000 as head of the Rhode Island Foundation — an organization dedicated to helping Rhode Island’s needy.
Zoom. Zoom.
An editorial is the opinion of a publication — specifically, the ownership.
While based on facts and news reporting, it is an opinion intended to discuss critical community issues. Often, the opinion is written with the intention of positive change.
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